Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Jarome Iginla from Calgary Flames

Following a whirlwind of rapidly evolving news, Jarome Iginla is headed to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The deal was announced on the Calgary Flames' official Twitter feed, as the team sent its star winger to the Steel City for Kenneth Agostino, Ben Hanowski and its 2013 first-round pick:

"I never thought I'd play here so long. It's a great city, a great community and a great place to live. Leaving is tough, but it's a great opportunity to go to Pittsburgh and do some good things there."

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UPDATE: Thursday, Mar. 28, at 7:22 a.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Jarome Iginla reportedly blocked the potential trade to Boston in favor of going to Pittsburgh, according to CSNNE.com's Joe Haggerty.

@kylerdraper Iginla chose Pittsburgh over Boston. He squashed the deal with the Bruins.

TSN's Aaron Ward had reported earlier in the evening that Calgary had shipped Iginla to the Boston Bruins, with his colleague Bob McKenzie giving details that Alexander Khokhlachev, Matt Bartkowski and a conditional first-round pick would be heading Calgary's way.

However, it seems the deal between Boston and Calgary fell apart and Pittsburgh stepped came forward with a better offer.

Iginla will head to the Penguins and don a non-Flames sweater for the first time in his 16 NHL seasons. Drafted by the Stars in 1995, Iginla never played a minute for Dallas before being shipped off to Calgary in exchange for Joe Nieuwendyk.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Considered, at the time, a promising but unproven prospect, Iginla would go on to become arguably the greatest player in Flames franchise history.

A star winger with a deadly shot, Iginla became Calgary's favorite son with his ability to generate points. He's the team's all-time points, goals and games played leader and is second on the Flames' assists list to boot.

A two-time winner of the NHL's Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for most goals in a season and the Flames' long-time captain, Iginla has become the singular face of hockey in Calgary.

Who was the biggest winner of this deal?

PenguinsFlamesIginla Submit Votevote to see results

Who was the biggest winner of this deal?

Penguins

57.1%

Flames

4.5%

Iginla

38.4%

Total votes: 1,978

At 35 years old, he likely won't bring the same voracity to Pittsburgh, but Iginla remains an effective player. He had 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) heading into Wednesday night and will walk into a Penguins lineup loaded with top-tier talent.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are two of the best centers in hockey and should set up Iginla nicely, depending on which line he ends up joining.

Pittsburgh will also present Iginla a chance to win a Stanley Cup. The Penguins have won 13 straight games and have built themselves quite the lead in the Eastern Conference standings. With Iginla in the mix, that lead only stands to grow for the remainder of the season.